


Respect Your Elders

by Ceeya (ceeya)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Because if they have to suffer, Cameos from the entire Uchiha family, Crack, Gen, Old!Madara, Old!Tobirama, Sakura will kill someone before this is done, Sasuke won't fight back, and it will probably be Sasuke, he wants out of this family, so will everyone else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceeya/pseuds/Ceeya
Summary: Sakura has a good life. Her family was cool, her team was fun (Sasuke's life was always good for a laugh), and her missions were interesting (if a bit boring).And then she decided to apprentice herself to a Sannin
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Senju Tobirama
Comments: 22
Kudos: 94





	1. I Want A Refund On This Apprenticeship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pillow forts (pyroooah)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroooah/gifts), [riashishiria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/riashishiria/gifts).



> Inspired by a full-length discord chat with [pillow forts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroooah/pseuds/pillow%20forts) and riashishiria

“Please let me be your apprentice, Hokage-sama!”

Tsunade leaned on her clasped hands, observing the bowing pink-haired girl in front of her. She didn’t really  _ need _ another apprentice, Shizune was enough. But there were always perks to having one more person to order around.

“Very well.” The Godaime agreed, watching the girl rise up with a grin. “Go to the Senju compound tomorrow morning at 8 AM sharp. My brother will give you your first task.”

* * *

Sakura arrived at the Senju compound at 7:45AM the next day. She was actually ready by 7, but didn’t want to seem overeager and so she walked around the markets till 7:30 before heading to the compound.

“Who is it?” Nawaki answered her knock with a yawn, looking as though he hadn’t slept the entire night.

“My name is Haruno Sakura, Senju-san. Hokage-sama told me to come here this morning for my first task as her apprentice.” Sakura gave a deep bow, hoping to make a good impression; but couldn’t help but glance up at the Hokage’s brother. Considering how old Tsunade-sama was rumoured to be, her brother didn’t seem that old. He looked about the same age as her dad. Maybe they had a very big age gap?

“Apprentice? Task?” Nawaki blinked absently as he tried to get his brain into regular working order, until he realised what Tsunade would have meant. “Oh! Oh, yes. Your first task as an apprentice medic. Please, come in, come in.”

Sakura was starting to get concerned. Senju-san initially looked confused and then suddenly perked up. The only one she’d seen do a quick 180 like that was Naruto and that didn’t fill her with any degree of confidence. But it wasn’t like she could say anything, Senju-san was her elder. So she quietly followed the older man through the hallways.

They came to a halt in front of a shoji door and Sakura could hear the water flowing and birds chirping through it. It must be connected to a garden. But before she could ask, her escort turned to her with a serious look on his face, prompting her to immediately stand at attention.

“As you know,” Nawaki began, “When you become a medic, you’ll have a lot of tasks and responsibilities at the hospital. Not all of them will be pleasant. But one of the challenges in order to be as successful as my sister is perseverance. And learning to deal with unpleasant situations. Remember, every task is a test and my sister has very strict requirements for her apprentice.”

Sakura nodded, determined to prove that she was worthy of the honor of being apprenticed to the slug Sannin.

“Now-”

“Nawaki! Stop standing there and come in with whoever you’re with! It’s rude to keep me waiting!” A gruff voice hollered from beyond the paper door, making Sakura jump in surprise.  _ Was that? _

Nawaki heaved a deep sigh and slid open the door, guiding Sakura in.

“Good morning, Uncle Tobirama. Did you have a good rest last night?”

“Keh, as much rest as I can with your chakra flickering on and off all night. You’re never going to master that jutsu if you can’t even control your chakra properly. Who’s the girl?”

“Ah! This is Haruno Sakura-san, Tsunade’s new apprentice.” 

  
Sakura gave a deep bow and a mumbled “Nidaime-sama”, awed at being in front of the famed shinobi.

“AND as a show of her enthusiasm, she’s volunteered to spend time with you today and learn by observation.”

“What?!” Sakura turned around in shock at the declaration, “Senju-san, I-”

“Sorry to run, but I do have some things that require my immediate attention. It was nice seeing you, great Uncle. And Sakura, I’m sure you’ll do well.” With that hastily spoken sentence, Nawaki disappeared down the hallways of the compound, leaving Sakura alone with Tobirama.

"Well, girl. What are you standing there for? This tea won't pour itself."

* * *

“Straighten your back! Did no one ever teach you any manners?”

“Are you sure you’re a teenager? With your chakra, I thought you were a  _ child _ .”

“A shinobi, with that get up? You’re better off in the daimyo’s palace.”

Sakura gritted her teeth, mentally telling herself that this was a test. She would pass this test. Sakura had never  _ failed _ a test in her  _ life _ . And this old man (the Nidaime-sama lost its luster in the first 3 insults) will  _ not _ be the reason she failed.

“Girl!” Tobirama called out, causing Sakura to focus back on the conversation.

“Yes, Senji-sama?”

“Don’t ignore your elders! It’s impolite!”

“Yes, Senju-sama.” Sakura mumbled.

“And speak up! Don’t be rude!”

“Yes, Senju-sama.” Sakura spoke louder.

“Now, wheel me towards the pond.”

“Ah!” Sakura looked up at the Nidaime, who was slowly using his cane to move to the wheelchair parked by the engawa. She quickly stood up to assist him, but was waved off. When Tobirama was seated, Sakura gently pushed the wheelchair through the paved path towards the pond with the walled waterfall and parked the chair right on the edge of the water.

“Well? Go on then. I don’t have all day.” Tobirama used his cane to gesture to the water.

“Sorry?”

“You’re a water type. Go on. Walk on the water.”

Sakura decided to just listen to him bit- ahem, speak.  _ Remember, Sakura, it’s just for today. You can excuse yourself in 2 more hours. Just do what he says and we can go. _

She stood on top of the water in the middle of the pond and looked at Tobirama, waiting for further instructions.

“Pull water with your chakra. No, don’t kneel down. Stand up. And pull the water up.” Sakura just stood there, looking hopelessly at the old man. Pull the water up with just her chakra?! How was she supposed to do that? Didn’t that require hand signs for a jutsu?

Whatever, she’s already been insulted enough. It couldn’t get any worse even if she ended up embarrassing herself. So Sakura closed her eyes and concentrated on the chakra on her feet to form a ball.

It took three -- ok, ten -- tries, but she managed to get something ball shaped by her foot. Her shoes are now damp and unsalvageable. She glanced down and stared intensely at the water ball, willing it to float up. The ball slowly lifted off the pool, but only got up by 1 inch before a cane tap made her lose control and the water popped and splashed all over her feet  _ again _ .

“I’ve seen enough.” Sakura glared at Tobirama at his interruption. She almost  _ had it _ if it weren’t for him! Wait, was he yawning? Did he  _ fall asleep _ while she was trying to do this  _ stupid  _ water ball that he  _ demanded _ of her?!

“There is potential.” Tobirama mused, “Very little, but it’s there. When do you graduate from the academy, girl?”

“I’ve graduated for at least 9 months, Senju-sama.”

“It seems that the academy curriculum has been dropping. That’s what happens when they let a 20-year-old take the Hokage position. Anyway, that’s all for today. Leave me.” And Tobirama used his chakra to slowly wheel himself back to the engawa.

Sakura stood flabbergasted as the Nidaime wheeled away. Why did he think Tsunade-sama was 20? She was at _least_ 45 years old. Also, he could have wheeled himself?! He didn’t need her to push the chair! She was leaving this place and never coming back! 

“Thank you so much for your time, Senju-sama. I’ve learned a lot.” She made sure that her posture was  _ perfect _ and that her words were formal and that there’d be nothing to criticise on her walk away from the Senju compound.

The moment she exited the house; she ran to the training grounds to meet up with her team. Time to let out her frustration on Naruto or Sasuke.

* * *

“How was your time with my uncle?” Tsunade asked when Sakura came by to deliver her updates for the day.

“It went fine, Tsunade-sama. Spending time with Senju-sama was  _ enlightening _ .”  _ And I hope I’ll never have to do it again. _ Was what she didn’t say. Senju-sama was the Nidaime, Tsunade-sama’s great uncle,  _ and _ her elder. She didn’t want to be thought of as  _ disrespectful _ and lose her apprenticeship.

“Hmm...It’s good that you get along with my great uncle, then. As part of your training regimen, you will be spending 2 hours a day every morning with him. I’ll be assigning you tasks that need to be done to ensure his continuing good health. After which, you will be expected at the hospital…”

The Godaime continued on, listing Sakura’s schedule for the foreseeable future. But Sakura couldn’t hear anything outside the ringing in her ears. She thought she was  _ free _ . That she would never have to step a single foot into the Senju compound again.

As she opened her mouth to see if she could reconsider the apprenticeship, Tsunade ended her monologue with:

“To be honest, I was a bit unsure about you, Haruno Sakura. But you’ve shown that you have the grit to be a promising shinobi. I’m expecting great things from you.”

And what could she say to that except nod?

When she left the Hokage tower, she walked listlessly through the streets of Konoha.

  
This was it, her life was officially  _ over _ .

  
  
  
  



	2. Can I trade my family for yours?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With family and friends like these, I prefer to spend time with my enemies - Uchiha Sasuke, 2020

It was a quiet, peaceful dinner in the Uchiha house. One of the rare times where the entire family, plus Shisui, was able to sit together without any missions or paperwork to distract them 

However, the sudden feeling of a large ball of chakra slowly heading towards the main house, causing all the men in the room to freeze. Fugaku suddenly inhaled his remaining food before putting the bowl down as Mikoto stood up from the table and went to greet her grandfather.

"I remember that I have paperwork that needs to be finished for tomorrow. Itachi, Sasuke, help your mother entertain our guest."

Itachi was far faster than him, though, putting a hand on his father’s shoulders and saying he’ll take care of it. 

"Father, I can do the paperwork for you. I'll need the practice if I'm going to take your place one day. Sasuke should be able to assist in anything Mother needs." And with that, Itachi disappeared.

Shisui was about to use to use his shunshin, etiquette be _damned_ , when an arm appeared from the void, clasping his right shoulder. Obito emerged from his Kamui with an evil smile and dragged him to the house entrance.

  
“Madara-sama! Look who I found!” Obito greeted cheerfully.

“KAGAMI! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? IF I HEAR YOU SPENDING ANYMORE TIME WITH THAT GODFORSAKEN SENJU....”

“AAAnyway, I have a mission with my team and so my cousin here will be taking care of you for the next week, grandfather!” Obito quickly ran off. Shisui didn’t really care about family obligations and was about to book it when Mikoto gave him her patented smile™.

“Shisui, why don’t you take grandfather to the sitting room? I’m sure FUGAKU AND SASUKE are there as well to keep us company.” The lady of the house made sure to add an enhancing jutsu to her voice, carrying over her threats to the dining room occupants who were ready to run away.

* * *

“Ah Mikoto, I really shouldn’t have allowed you to marry this fool. 20 years and you’ve only had 2 children. Back in my day, you’d have at least 8 at this point. Maybe I should have just let that Haru to court you instead.” Madara sipped his tea as he continued chatting with his granddaughter, not noticing (or not caring) that his grandson-in-law was seconds away from sending a fireball his way.

“What’s done is done, grandfather. We all have to live with the choices we’ve made.” Was Mikoto’s serene reply.

If it weren’t for the fact that they didn’t want to draw attention to themselves, Shisui and Sasuke would have laughed at the betrayed look on their current patriarch’s face. As it was, Shisui was still concentrating to see if there was any way he could escape this impromptu family meeting, while Sasuke was gripping onto the hem of Shisui’s shirt. If his cousin managed to get away, Sasuke was coming along.

“IZUNA!” Madara shouted. There was really no need considering Sasuke was right in front of him, but Madara always had a flair for the dramatic. That, coupled with his deteriorating hearing, meant that his shouting was often heard around the compound.

“Have you awakened your magenkyou yet?” He demanded.

“No, Madara-sama.” Sasuke answered, bracing himself for the expected outburst.

“What have you been doing? What has your teacher been doing? You should have unlocked your sharingan _ages_ ago. Is this because of your team? I knew that Senju brat would only give you a team that holds you back. KAGAMI! We’re going to the Hokage tomorrow to give her a piece of my mind!” 

“Yes, Madara-sama.” Shisui droned, knowing that Madara would forget this entire conversation the moment he stepped outside of this room.

“But that _is_ a good idea, grandfather!” Mikoto excitedly clasp her hands. “Sasuke, why don’t you bring your teammates over for dinner tomorrow? We haven’t seen them in a while and I’m sure your grandfather will love to meet them. Shisui, you’ll make sure that grandfather is here by dinner time.”

Shisui nodded glumly as Sasuke wondered how nice his life would be if he was the only Uchiha left alive.

* * *

“No. Ask Naruto instead.” Sakura gave her opinion the moment Sasuke opened his mouth, not even waiting for whatever ridiculous favor her teammate wanted from her. Whenever Sasuke looked that constipated, it never boded well for her.

“Like hell I’m putting the dobe in front of my great grandfather. Our house will collapse halfway through dinner!”

“I’ve already been dealing with one bitchy old man _every.single.day._ I’m not adding one more. Not even for you!”

“...I’ll use my sharingan to memorise your textbooks and help you cram.”

“...”

“...”

“FINE! FINE! But you’ll also have to pay for my outfit! And a spa! Because if the first thing I hear when I enter your house is criticisms about how I look, I will _break_ you, Uchiha Sasuke.”

* * *

"I didn't think I'd see anyone look more like a tree than _Hashirama_." were the first words out of Madara’s mouth the moment Sakura stepped into the dining room and introduced herself to the Uchiha elder.

Sakura ignored the insult in those words and just followed after Sasuke, but the wince on her teammate’s face showed that he could _feel_ his bones disintegrating once Sakura gets her hands on him tomorrow.

“Isn’t Naruto coming?” Mikoto asked her youngest.

“No, the do- Naruto already had something planned.” 

“He was really sorry for not being able to come. Maybe Sasuke can invite him here some other time?” Sakura smiled back at her hostess, relishing on the sight of Sasuke almost choking on his tea.

“Of course! You know that the three of you are always welcome here. And it will be nice to have more company for dinner, since Fugaku and Itachi are always busy with the police force and missions. Ah, they did pass on their apologies on not being able to meet you tonight.”

“It’s not a problem, Uchiha-san. Their work is important to the village, after all.”

Madara harrumphed at the comment, muttering about how the Senju government was driving the Uchiha shinobi to the ground with work, those slave-driving, tree-hugging oafs. But everyone politely ignored his words, Mikoto gracefully redirecting the conversation to safer topics.

What happened in the next few hours was one of the most _terrifying_ dinner in Sasuke’s life. With his great grandfather criticising everything about Sakura and her teacher, Sakura’s unnervingly chipper responses to every insult while giving him side-eye glares, and his mother’s _insinuation_ that team dinners with the Uchiha elder become a regular thing, he was surprised that the dining room was still standing.

When they _finally_ finished eating, he was about to put an end to this visit and pull Sakura out of the house when his cousin had to open his big mouth.

“Aren't you learning medical ninjutsu now, Sakura-san?” 

Sakura and Sasuke blinked in surprise at the sudden interest, considering Shisui had been spending most of the time trying to escape but was always caught by Mikoto before he could even execute any of his exit strategies.

“...yes, I am.” Sakura answered hesitantly, eyeing his cousin with suspicion.

“That's wonderful news!” The curly haired boy brightly clapped his hands together. He then turned to address the oldest person in the room. “Madara-sama, considering that Sakura-san is learning medical ninjutsu _and_ she's in a team with both Sasuke and Hatake-san, wouldn't it make sense to have her be the one to check the family's sharingan? That way we don't need to keep visiting the hospital for our routine check-ups.”

_And I don't have to escort you anymore._ was the unspoken phrase that every person under the age of 20 in the room could read from his face.

Sasuke felt a shiver of foreboding run down his spine as Sakura got an unholy gleam in her eyes spelling out that his cousin should probably start running for the hills the moment this visit ended.

It didn't help when his _mother_ decide to agree with the _absolutely stupid_ suggestion. He started to argue saying that Sakura had just begun her apprenticeship and wouldn't be able to handle anything as complex as their dojutsu until he realized he’d just put his foot into his mouth.

“Are you doubting my skills, Uchiha Sasuke?!” Sakura hissed at him, prompting almost everyone in the room to turn their attention to him. His teammate in anger, his mother in disappointment, and his cousin in _glee._

Luckily, he was saved from answering by his great grandfather, of all people.

“Absolutely not! We won't allow just anyone access to our doujutsu, especially not a _child_ who's probably only going to learn enough to heal a paper cut. She's also probably learning from a second rate shinobi from that dilapidated hospital.” 

“My apologies, Uchiha-sama.” Sakura angrily bit out, her fingers clenching against the fabric of her brand new kimono. “But I'm afraid I'd have to correct you on that. After all, I may still be an apprentice but Senju-sama is one of the greatest medics in the world.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his teammate, wondering why she used Senju-sama to address the Hokage instead of using her title.

“Senju?!” Madara exclaimed in outrage. “That old bastard is teaching you? All of you? Is he planning on stealing another Uchiha just like what he did to Kagami?”

“You don't have to worry about it, Uchiha-sama,” Sakura responded with a smile, “I'm the only one being taught because I was told I had potential.”

The silent _'_ _and your great grandson doesn't'_ echoed across the room, making everyone pause as they digested the implied insult.

“How dare-” Madara seethed, “IZUNA! You'll be training with me every morning from now on! I'm not going to allow you to fall behind a _Senju_ , of all people!”

Sasuke didn't even get a chance to respond because his mother agreed _for him_ , happy at knowing that her son and grandfather would be spending more time together. Shisui, _the rat bastard_ who started all this, was trying to stifle his laughter at the situation while Sakura had a triumphant look on her face.

He _hated_ his family. And his team. And his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Tsunade is the medic, not Tobirarama.
> 
> But Madara doesn't care. He heard Senju and his one track mind filled in the blanks.....all the wrong blanks.


End file.
